I have written seven books about the history of places I have travelled to. I travel because my own father always said he would travel after he’d retired, but he never got the chance because he died from cancer when he was 49. I travel for him when I go to places as well asContinue reading “The Baltics and Poland”
Tag Archives: gdansk
The Baltics and Poland
I have written seven books about the history of places I have travelled to. I travel because my own father always said he would travel after he’d retired, but he never got the chance because he died from cancer when he was 49. I travel for him when I go to places as well asContinue reading “The Baltics and Poland”
Gdansk – 11
On 4th June, 1989 the Solidarity Civil Committee contested 35% of the seats in the Polish Parliament, the Sejm and all the seats in The Senate. Solidarity obtained 161 seats in the Sejm, the maximum possible, and 99 out of 100 in The Senate. For some reason, Piotra Baumgarta didn’t find favour with the voters,Continue reading “Gdansk – 11”
Gdansk – 10
Another shocking event which placed the authorities in a bad light, was the murder of Father Jerzy Popieluszko a staunch anti-Communist Catholic priest. After completing his secondary education, Jerzy Popieluszko attended a seminary in Warsaw. He served his army duties in a special force designed to dissuade young men from becoming priests. This had noContinue reading “Gdansk – 10”
Gdansk – 9
Although the authorities were hoping to reduce the effectiveness of the Gdansk Agreement for workers’ rights in Poland, a number of different situations conspired against them. The first was the film Man of Iron by the Polish Andrzey Wajda, about the shipyard strike of 1980, which won the Palm d’Or at Cannes in 1981. TheContinue reading “Gdansk – 9”
Gdansk – 8
The next room moves on to 1980. An economic crisis led to the Communist government authorizing an increase in food prices for the summer of 1980. Once again a revival of labor disturbances erupted throughout the nation. Workers of the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk went on strike in mid-August, sparked by the firing of AnnaContinue reading “Gdansk – 8”
Gdansk – 7
I continued on and read more details about the events of 14th – 17th December 1970 along the Baltic Coast commemorated in the Monument to the Shipyard Workers outside the centre. People protested at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk on the 14th and then on the 17th 44 people were killed at the dockyard andContinue reading “Gdansk – 7”
Gdansk – 6
In 1956, Nikita Khruschev’s address to the 20th Convention of the USSR’s Communist Party spoke of strengthening socialism’s grip on the East, and of the dangers of individualism. Already simmering with discontent the Polish media helped stir local discord and on June 28th a strike started in the Stalin brick factory (later the ‘Hipolita CegielskiegoContinue reading “Gdansk – 6”
Gdansk – 4
I rarely use audio guides, but I must recommend them at the European Solidarity Centre as the information provided was clear, concise, and fitted in almost perfectly with what I saw. This may seem obvious but there is so much information to process that you have to concentrate all the time during the visit. InContinue reading “Gdansk – 4”
Gdansk – 2
Gdansk airport is named after Lech Walesa and if visitors don’t know much about this man before they arrive then they will know a lot by the time they leave, especially if they visit the European Solidarity Centre, which is about 500 metres from Gdansk Glowny by the entrance to the shipyards.This museum is anContinue reading “Gdansk – 2”
Julian Worker Travel - A few ideas for your next trip in every direction 